Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

[AtTheLake]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Wow, looks great, you?re flying right along.
Barely a month into your build and your ready to finish the dome. I think it?s going to take longer for it to cure than it did to build.
I just cut the soldiers for my first course so hopefully I can lay them out up at the cabin this weekend. If I am lucky I will be making pizzas before the snow flies.


Mark

[Cheesesteak]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Cheesesteak,
This is a great site because of constructive criticism delivered without malice from the people who have this similar passion.
Robert

Robert - it's not constructive criticism!! I've been told and sometimes scolded by a life-long mason I know about running joints. As I'm building my oven and setting bricks - I here him over my shoulder saying "fix that running joint!"

I'm amazed at how people can make "something from nothing.". Your oven looks great - and the setting is amazing. I'm really looking forward to seeing the final product.

Dan

[Mike D]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

-How are you planing on mortaring the bricks? With a slurry? Or are you going to go brick by brick/row by row (normal)?
- I like the look, I am way too much of a stickler to not see the inside of the oven when I am mortaring things in. Good Luck.

Mike

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Hello T F,

Cure your oven slowly and don't abuse it with loads of wood while there is any chance that moisture may remain in the brick, mortar, insulation or base. With these critical areas properly dried you will lessen the chance for serious cracks. Meanwhile, your oven is coming along nicely and I am confident it will hold up to your expectations. Keep the issue in mind for the remainder of your build. Have fun.

Cheers,

AZ,

This is what I intend to do. Slow cure and have fun. I won't be rushing into cooking until this thing is drier than a camel's toenail.

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Mike D,

I had considered a slurry, but after some investigation and some astute advice from a couple of mason gurus here on the site, slurry is best left for the experts. I intend to use mortar that is of a higher slump than you would normally use for buttering bricks (not so much water that it would weaken it) and forcing it into the voids, as several members have suggested.

Thanks for the interest

Robert

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Here is today's progress. Coming over the top and heading for the key!

[azpizzanut]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

TF,

You still have some challenges left, but I think you will overcome them. Looks good so far. When you get close to the final closure you will have to decide how to do it.....fancy cuts or simple. It will be like the dash to the finish line.

Cheers,

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

I did not think it would come soon enough. I am at the key of the dome. I have taken foam in a can (Great Stuff) and filled a plastic bag and stuffed it in the keyhole so it will dry in the shape of the key. I will cut the key in the morning. The dome was arching up and was going to be taller than I wanted. Must have been brick gremlins, but I digress. I wanted a 22"ceiling and in order to compensate for my thinner than expected mortar joints I had to adjust my drawings and my cuts on courses 8 and above. I do not believe the error is significant in terms of heat. It is round, 22" at the key and the door is 63% as per the Forno Bravo suggestion. It just looks a tad squished. But I think it is going to be very stable. I feel good about my cuts and the mortar was carefully mixed. When the housing is built around it with insulation blanket and vermiculite filling all of the voids, you will not be able to see my slightly squatting Pompeii. It has been a really enjoyable experience, and if I ever build another one, I will have a lot of improvements in my technique.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

I have taken foam in a can

Great idea, instant oven in a can, just add water....

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Brickie,

Do you have any good threads on curing the oven? Better yet, what would you suggest for a rather large and moist Pompeii in the way of curing? I am on the other side of the world and the Equator so will probably have to things in the opposite direction.

[brickie in oz]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Brickie,

Do you have any good threads on curing the oven? Better yet, what would you suggest for a rather large and moist Pompeii in the way of curing? I am on the other side of the world and the Equator so will probably have to things in the opposite direction.

Id cover it with a large tarp or tent or something, I dont know your weather so Ill assume it wet or damp.

A large light globe left on will aid drying (100 watts or more), I used 1 in my new oven and you could feel the heat coming out of the door.

A small propane burner, camping style will work too.

I dried mine as much as possible with the light on 24/7 for 2 weeks before I added the loose vermiculite.

[Tapir Force]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

I have just spent the better part of an hour removing my false floor with the sand form to hold up my remaining courses of bricks. The key went in early yesterday. I built a platform in fron of my oven to facilitate me sliding my large arse inside of the dome. It really turned out cool. You look at all of the pictures of everybody else's dome from the inside once the keystone has been put in and you don't realize at that point why it is such a big deal. But once inside the oven, cleaning away the sand and excess mortar, you begin to feel differently. It is something that is an ancient pursuit. The inside of my dome is not unlike ovens built in Pompeii thousands of years ago. Several times I caught myself staring at all of the bricks and joints and imagining what a craftsman from times long ago might have been thinking as he began the final preparations for his oven, the hub of a family or a community. It is an awesome feeling.

On a separate note, I do have a couple of voids in my work where I was unable to force the mortar through from above. I am concerned about using the mortar without using a little more brick sand as the Portland cement will just be disintegrating soon with the curing fires. I want to fill them and my assumption is that the increased amount of brick clay will harden without shrinking and breaking down like the portland mix. Does anybody have any suggestions for me on this void situation?

PS - The thing seems as strong as a bomb shelter. Will it become more fragile as the fire burns away the portland?

[david s]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

the Portland cement in the mortar mix may fail with high heat but the lime in it won't, that is why it is added.

[Sharkey]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

..
You look at all of the pictures of everybody else's dome from the inside once the keystone has been put in and you don't realize at that point why it is such a big deal. But once inside the oven, cleaning away the sand and excess mortar, you begin to feel differently. It is something that is an ancient pursuit. The inside of my dome is not unlike ovens built in Pompeii thousands of years ago. Several times I caught myself staring at all of the bricks and joints and imagining what a craftsman from times long ago might have been thinking as he began the final preparations for his oven, the hub of a family or a community. It is an awesome feeling.

Well said. Congratulations on completing your dome.

[Mike D]

Re: Tapir Force Steps up to the plate!

Congrats, nice job, but where are the pictures? Did I miss them? I know in time, they will get here, but until then good job finishing the dome.

Mike